Drew Parker had finally drummed up the courage to come to Serpent’s Kiss by himself four weeks ago. He’d been anxious about walking into a kink club. The idea of going alone terrified him. In the end, after a lot of internal arguments, he’d done it. He’d made the leap into the unknown.
In the months leading up to his first trip to the club, Drew attended a few local munches. That had been daunting in and of itself. He hadn’t known what to expect, but the people were more welcoming than he’d thought they’d be—especially John and his mistress, Allison. They seemed to sense his need for guidance and had taken him under their wing, so to speak.
It was through John and Allison that Drew found out about the club. Serpent’s Kiss was a private club in the heart of downtown St. Louis. On the outside, it appeared to be an old warehouse. No one would know it was a BDSM club unless they paid close attention to the people who came and went on Friday and Saturday nights.
With the help of his new friends, he was introduced to the club and its owner, Mistress Katrina. Drew was a little surprised a woman owned and ran a kink club. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d just assumed a man would be in charge. The joke was on him, however. If he’d ever been in doubt as to his submissive tendencies, they’d disappeared after his interview with Mistress Katrina. The moment she began questioning him from behind that big wooden desk, her tone of voice changed and he felt his heart pick up its pace. She seemed to get a kick out of his reaction, and after a few more questions, she’d shown him around the club.
While Mistress Katrina’s dominant nature got his blood pumping, that was where his reaction to her ended. There was no physical attraction. He was confident part of that was because the dungeon mistress was a busty blonde. He preferred leggy brunettes with a little extra cushion in the back end.
Thinking of his first meeting with the club’s mistress made him squirm in his seat. She was certainly nothing like he’d expected her to be. Then again, most of the Dommes he’d met weren’t what he’d expected. Allison was a perfect example. The Dommes he’d seen in online videos barked orders at their submissives, and seemed to take pleasure in humiliating them at every turn. Allison was nice. Drew had no doubt that, if pushed, she could be hard as nails, but she’d been nothing but pleasant to him. She’d even offered to do a scene with Drew if he wanted. Although it was tempting, he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that step yet. For the time being, he was content to watch. Everything was still so new to him.
To be honest, Drew was relieved to discover not all Dommes were like the ones he’d seen online. While he wanted his lover to be in control in the bedroom, public humiliation wasn’t on his list of desires. He wanted to serve his partner—to worship her body and mind. Meeting Allison and John gave him hope.
As Drew glanced around the main room, he spotted some familiar faces. It was a typical night. The main room was scattered with people talking and sipping on drinks. Submissives were in various stages of undress. Some were on leashes kneeling on the floor next to their masters or mistresses. Others were sitting beside or on top of their master’s or mistress’ laps. Mistress Katrina was near the bar talking to a male Dom and his female sub. Drew recognized both of them, but he didn’t know their names.
There were also a handful of people Drew had met at the munches he’d attended. While he’d met a few others since coming to the club, the atmosphere was different. Munches were for socializing. Serpent’s Kiss was for playing.
The club was divided into sections, which was one of the things Drew liked the most. There were plenty of seating areas scattered around the main floor, as well as a bar along one wall, a small dance floor, and a raised platform. He’d been told the platform was used for demonstrations, but he’d yet to witness one of those since he’d been a member. As for kinky play, very little beyond the occasional spanking or some other light impact play occurred in the main room. Everything else took place upstairs.
A couple of weeks ago, he’d drummed up the courage to climb the stairs and take a look around. The upstairs rooms looked completely different with people in them than they had when Mistress Katrina had shown him around during the club’s off hours. The sounds alone charged the atmosphere.
Although Drew didn’t consider himself a voyeur, he couldn’t help himself. He was drawn into watching some of the scenes. Most of the items in the rooms were things he’d seen online in his initial research into the lifestyle. Some of them appealed to him. Some of them didn’t.
Drew had the desire to submit to a mistress, but he wasn’t looking for just the physical aspects of submission. Maybe that sounded cheesy, but he’d done the whole sex-only thing in the vanilla world. There was physical gratification, yes, but he’d never truly felt connected to a woman before. Drew knew part of that was his desire to give up control to his partner. He was twenty-eight, and he wanted someone he could share his life with.
As a firefighter, he saw death and tragedy on a regular basis. He didn’t want to wake up ten years into the future and still be searching for someone who could give him what he needed. That was why he’d decided to plunge headfirst into this new lifestyle instead of dragging his feet in the regular dating pool. Even still, Drew knew it was going to be an uphill battle. There were more male subs than there were female dominants. Even at the club, there were five male Doms to every one Domme. But as his new friend John had reminded him on multiple occasions, if Drew didn’t put himself out there, he’d never find the woman he was searching for.
Drew watched as John sat at his mistress’ feet with his head in her lap. It wasn’t demeaning in any way. It was affectionate, and Drew wanted that for himself.
Allison moved, getting John’s attention. “Get me a drink, my boy.”
John was swiftly on his feet. “What would you like, Mistress?”
That was the last of their exchange Drew heard because his attention had shifted to the door. He vaguely registered John leaving the cozy sitting area, but Drew was too focused on the woman who’d walked through the club’s main entrance.
The new arrival surveyed the room. From the way she was carrying herself, Drew was almost positive she was a Domme. If he was being honest with himself, he was hoping she was a Domme. Whether she was or not remained to be seen.
She looked to be about five foot six or seven, but the black heels she had on added a good three to four inches to her stature. Her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and looked almost black in the dim club lighting. The black corset and jeans she wore accented her curves to the point where Drew was afraid he might be drooling.
Only a few seconds passed before the woman strolled with confidence over to the bar and ordered a drink. Drew continued to stare. She chatted with the bartender for several minutes, even after he’d handed the woman her drink. Drew didn’t recognize the woman as anyone who’d been to the club since he’d joined, but the bartender seemed to know her. Of course, that didn’t mean anything. For all Drew knew, the mystery woman and the bartender lived next door to each other. Then again, this was a private club. In order to be here, she had to be a member. Especially since she’d come alone.
Drew’s eyes followed the woman as she headed to a booth across the room. She sat down with another group of people similar to the one he was with. He recognized most of them. They were all regulars.
Abruptly, John sat down next to him on the couch having returned with his mistress’ drink. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”
Drew reluctantly pulled his gaze away from the woman. “What?”
“Don’t what me. You’re staring at Lady Beth.”
Then what John said registered. “What do you mean I shouldn’t get my hopes up? She is a Domme, right?”
“Oh yes, definitely a Domme.”
“She doesn’t like male subs?”
“She does.” John drew out the two words, and Drew knew there was a ‘but’ coming.
He sighed, frustrated. “Then what’s the issue?”
John lowered his voice to a whisper so no one around them could hear the information he was about to disclose. Drew doubted his friend would tell him anything ninety percent of the club didn’t already know, but he decided to play along. One of the first things Drew learned was that word traveled fast in the small community—especially if it was something bad. “She used to come here all the time with her sub, Ben. They’d been together for years, from what I heard, before Mistress and I began getting involved in local events. Then, three months ago, they both suddenly stopped coming. To the club. To munches. Everything.”
Drew couldn’t help himself. He was intrigued. “What happened?”
“Ben traveled a lot for his business. Sometimes he was out of town for weeks at a time going to all sorts of places. Apparently, his trips weren’t business related. At least, not completely. Lady Beth found out he had a wife and daughter in Florida.”
“That’s insane. It’s like something you hear on TV.” Drew shook his head, trying to digest the information he’d received.
“I know. He’d lied to her the entire time.”
Drew’s gaze drifted back to Lady Beth. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have trust broken in such a way.
John’s voice pulled Drew out of his musings. “I don’t know if she’s ready to dive back into a relationship, man, and I know that’s what you want.”
It was true. Drew did want a relationship, but he was willing to work for it. One step at a time, right? So the first thing he had to do was find a way to introduce himself.
***
Beth Davenport tried to ignore all the stares she received when she entered the club. It had been three months since she’d stepped foot inside Serpent’s Kiss. She knew showing up would mean she’d be the hot topic of gossip for the evening. Her best friend and fellow Domme, Nicole, had warned her about the rumors floating around. They were surprisingly accurate as far as rumors went except no one knew how Beth had come to find out about Ben’s lies. Only Nicole knew the whole truth, and Beth wanted to keep it that way.
Domme or not, finding out a large portion of the life you’d been living for the last three years was a lie left Beth broken in a lot of ways. She wasn’t even sure why she’d come to the club. Oh, that’s right. It was Nicole’s hounding over the last two weeks. Nicole had insisted three months was enough moping.
Every Friday afternoon for the last month, Nicole had called Beth asking if she was going to put in an appearance at Serpent’s Kiss. Each time, Beth had weaseled out of it. Her friend had even enlisted Katrina’s help more than once.
The club mistress was a formidable woman in her late forties. She’d been married to a man who wanted no part in her kinky ways. Beth didn’t know her back then, but the way the story went was that at forty-four, her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He’d died within two months. The sudden change in Katrina’s life prompted her to take stock. Six months later, she opened Serpent’s Kiss.
While Beth admired Katrina and her take-the-bull-by-the-horns attitude, Beth wasn’t sure she was ready to be back at the club. Unfortunately, when Katrina had put her on the spot, Beth hadn’t been able to say no. Both Katrina and Nicole had been incredibly supportive after what had happened with Ben. While Beth had no desire to put herself back out into the dating world—it was the last thing she wanted at the moment—Nicole and Katrina had convinced her that she needed to get out and mingle. She had friends here, and it wasn’t right for her to turn her back on them because Ben had been a class-A jerk.
So here she was, sitting with Nicole and a group of their friends. Beth was the only Dominant in their group without a sub. It was a little awkward, but she tried to ignore it and have a good time. Nicole was right about one thing, Beth had missed her friends. She wasn’t going to let what Ben did tarnish that.
“I think you have an admirer,” Nicole whispered in Beth’s ear, jarring her from her thoughts.
“What?”
Nicole scooted closer to her. “There’s a guy across the room that hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you for the last fifteen minutes. I’d say he’s interested.”
Beth didn’t even bother to look. “I’m not.”
“Oh, come on. He’s hot, and I happen to know he’s a sub.”
“That doesn’t change anything. I’m not ready to get back into the dating pool again.”
Her friend rolled her eyes. “Well, you don’t have to date him, you know.”
She shook her head. “I’m not into playing with random subs and you know it. Even if I was, I don’t think I could even do that after everything.”
Nicole frowned. “You have to get back on the horse sometime.”
Beth sighed in defeat. “I know. Maybe in a month or so—”
Her friend placed a hand on her arm, stopping Beth mid-sentence. “I don’t think he’s going to wait a month or so. He’s coming over.”
“What do you mean he’s coming over? Here?”
Nicole nodded and turned back to their group, effectively leaving Beth to fend for herself. Taking a deep breath, Beth prepared herself for whatever line this guy was going to try to sell her.
Her heart pounded as she felt him drawing closer, but Beth refused to show any outward signs that she was aware of the man. It would only encourage him.
To her surprise, instead of coming over and trying to sweet-talk her, the guy sat down in the chair to her right and said nothing. It was odd to be sure, but since she wasn’t interested in the slightest anyway, Beth decided to ignore him and refocus on her friends’ conversation. Maybe he’d eventually get the idea and go away. Or maybe she was only being paranoid and he didn’t walk across the room for her at all.
Ignoring him turned out to be more difficult than Beth originally thought. Although he didn’t attempt to engage her in conversation, she felt his presence beside her. Even with her eyes purposely averted, Beth knew he wasn’t a small man. She’d seen enough in her peripheral vision to know he was tall and nicely proportioned.
No matter how aware she was of his presence, Beth outwardly ignored him. That was until she finished off her drink. She scooted forward in her seat, preparing to head to the bar for a refill, but he moved, too, inevitably drawing her attention. “May I, ma’am?”
Beth tilted her head to look at him for the first time, and all the moisture seemed to disappear from her throat. Cute did not begin to describe the man sitting next to her. He was tall and lean, but she wouldn’t call him lanky with his broad shoulders and muscled arms. His hair was a light brown and he was clean-shaven, but it was his eyes that drew her in. They were the most amazing baby blue.
When she didn’t respond, he repeated his question. “May I get you a refill on your drink, ma’am?”
“Y-yes.” Then, catching herself, she spoke again with more confidence. “Um. No. Thank you. I don’t know you from Adam.”
He extended his hand. “Drew Parker.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Allison and John will vouch for me. No funny business. I promise.” He tilted his head toward another Femdom, Allison, and her longtime boyfriend and sub, John. Beth knew them both, although not well.
Beth waited until Allison looked in her direction, and gave her a questioning look. Allison smiled and nodded.
Reluctantly, Beth handed her glass to the man sitting beside her.
“What would you like?” he asked.
“The bartender knows. Just tell him it’s for Beth.” Her answer came out more clipped than usual. She wanted him to take his leave as quickly as possible before she went and did something stupid. Beth kept her gaze on him as he walked away. Her stomach was doing flip-flops and she didn’t like it one bit.
He returned a few minutes later and handed her a small glass filled with half Coke and half Sprite. Beth rarely drank alcohol, and never at the club. Whenever she came to Serpent’s Kiss, she was either playing with Ben or she was alone where she’d have to drive home. Either way, she didn’t drink.
After taking the glass from Drew, she turned back to her friends, effectively ignoring her unwanted admirer once more. Nicole had a knowing smirk on her face that Beth desperately wished she could wipe off. Maybe she could borrow one of the club’s floggers. It had been a while since she’d thrown one, and she had to admit the thought of having the leather in her hands again was appealing.
For the next hour, Drew continued to sit beside her in silence as she chatted with her friends. Everyone in their small group brought Beth up to date on what was going on in their lives. Meanwhile, her new admirer said nothing. And although he did little more than sit there, he was making her uneasy. Every one of her nerve endings seemed to be aware of him.
Finally, Beth couldn’t take it any longer and turned to face him. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but let me spell out exactly what I’m not looking for. I’m not looking for a submissive and I don’t play with random partners.”
“I understand.” His voice was smooth, and it sent tingles down her spine. This was not good.
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “You understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Beth waited for him to leave, but he remained where he was. “So if you know I’m not looking for a relationship or a play partner then why are you sitting here?”
“I’d like to get to know you, if you’re agreeable.” He sounded sincere.
“You want to be friends?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “You seem interesting.”
Beth gave him a hard look trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. She never used to question her judgment, but after Ben, everything was different. “Do you have a mistress?”
“No, ma’am. I’m pretty new to the lifestyle.”
“How new?”
“A few months.” His gaze never left hers.
“Have you ever played with a Femdom before?” Why she was asking was beyond her. It wasn’t as if she ever planned on playing with him.
“No, ma’am.”
Again, she had no idea why she was pressing for information, but the questions kept coming to the forefront of her mind and she kept asking them. “No vanilla girl out there for you?”
“I’ve tried vanilla relationships and they don’t work for me. I want a woman to take control.”
The image of him tied to a bench completely at her mercy flashed in her mind before she squashed it. No. She would not go down that path.
If he wanted to be friends, she could try, she supposed. But there would have to be ground rules—no seeing him outside the club being the number one. She had no idea if he frequented the local munches or not. If so, she would have to be careful. Munches were more laid back. That could open up a whole new set of problems—especially since she was already having a physical reaction to him.
Theirs would have to be a lifestyle friendship only. If Drew had questions about BDSM or needed help finding a Domme, she could maybe give him advice. That was it, though. Beth wasn’t ready to get tangled up in another web of emotional attachment.
Taking a deep breath, she offered her hand, and introduced herself. “I’m Beth. Beth Davenport.”
He wrapped his fingers around hers almost reverently. “It’s nice to meet you, Beth Davenport.”